Ghost House
by penguinsleddings
Summary: Danny, Tucker, Valerie, and Sam take on college with all the veracity of... well, of a group of misfit ghost hunters with a mutual hero complex shoved into a house together. Collection of non chronological oneshots and drabbles detailing their experiences with new schools, a new town, and their pseudo-adopted teenager, Dani.
1. Ghost Nip

**A/N: Wooooow, it's been a while since I actively used this site. (Gotta say... hasn't changed much since I started six years ago. Luckily I have). Usually you can find me on ao3 or my tumblr (both usernames are 'penguinsledding' with no spaces or hyphens or anything). If you follow me on Tumblr, you'll have seen the thousands-of-words-long headcanons post that I made a while ago with all of my feelings about the Danny Phantom characters in college. This story is essentially just going to be a bunch of oneshots and drabbles in that continuity. Don't expect much in the name of overarching plot- these are just fun little things for me.**

**This first one was inspired by Bekuki on Tumblr, though I didn't realize that until after I'd wrote it and was trying to think of where I came up with the concept. She wrote a fic called Trance Tulips on her Tumblr, and I highly recommend you check it out. She's one of my favorites. Anyway, please enjoy the fic! Sorry to talk so long.**

**FRESHMAN YEAR**

It wasn't until the movers had already vacated the new home that Sam smelled it.

She thought at first that it was just an 'old house' smell- a distinctly disgusting mustiness to add to the 'character' of the building. At least, that's what she planned on telling Tucker when he complained. She also had a rant on the beauty of old houses in her back pocket in case of unexpected creaks or pests.

Still, Sam didn't expect any problems this early. The group was still filled with naive excitement about the move. It was the biggest house any of them but Sam had lived in, and it was all theirs. (And they had not yet found out that Sam was lying about how much the bills were. Her friends wanted to help, but she saw no need to bankrupt them).

It wasn't long before the smell began to grate on her, however. The longer it permeated the house the more she hated it. If she wasn't mistaken, it was actually growing more pungent as they unpacked.

"Does anyone know what that IS?" Tucker whined, rifling through their newly stocked cabinets for some air freshener. The group had spent all of the previous day grocery shopping. Sam, who had been prepared for this, ditched her plans. As much as she hated to admit it, she was just as ready to pitch a fit as Tucker.

"I don't know," she grumbled. "It didn't smell this way during the showing. Or yesterday when we put the groceries away."

"Maybe it's something on our stuff," Valerie suggested from where she stood in the living room, unloading a box of momentos for the coffee table. Among them were clippings of the Red Hunter and Danny Phantom, and a framed picture of the four of them.

"Ok, well if it is, we need to have a talk about bringing toxic substances into the house."

Sam and Valerie rolled their eyes simultaneously.

"I'll look upstairs," Sam decided. "We haven't done much unloading there. You two look down here and in the basement."

As she walked upstairs, she ran her fingers lightly over the white walls. She could hardly believe it was her home now. Hers, and Danny's, and Tucker's, and even Valerie's. Danny was on patrol now, but she could already picture the four of them on the couch, eating dinner at the table, throwing college parties...

God, the SMELL.

Sam grimaced and continued to breathe through her mouth. At least that way she could minimize the scent.

"It's definitely worse up here," she called down. The goth girl continued to follow the scent, frowning as it led her to her own room.

Danny had a room in the basement, but he had already claimed her room as his own- his boxes lay where the movers had left them, right next to Sam's. She reached for them first. She'd smelled Danny's gym clothes before; the source of the stench wasn't likely to be far.

However, much to her surprise, it wasn't until she opened her own boxes that she found the source.

A small bottle of perfume had shattered. It coated the fabric of her clothes and curled the edges of some of her favorite photos. Even the thick cardboard had large, wet patches in the side. Sam scowled.

"Found it!" She called down.

She knew she shouldn't have brought that perfume. Gregor had given it to her in their brief stint as boyfriend-girlfriend. They had broken up shortly after, and she'd never worn it.

"What is it?" Val asked as she rounded the corner in the hallway. Sam held up the shattered perfume in response.

"Ugh, people WANT to smell this way?"

"Not me," Sam scowled. "Gregor gave it to me. It wasn't worth the effort of bringing along. Now all of my clothes reek."

Valerie shrugged. "It'll come out with a wash or two."

The goth girl, determined to be upset, merely shrugged moodily. She'd only kept the stupid thing because it made Danny pleasantly jealous. Of all the things to happen on their first day in the new house...

XXX

Danny was halfway down the street when he smelled it.

The ghost boy, invisible to avoid attracting attention, did not move towards it so much as he was PULLED.

He drifted through the window, his feet hitting the ground solidly as Danny Fenton replaced his heroic counterpart. The boy trailed down the hallway. His head was held high, sniffing the air.

"Oh, hey Danny," Sam called from down the hall.

Danny's head shot to the side to look at her. He could practically see the scent wafting off of her. Her fingers, her thick purple robe... They were all coated in it.

"Saaaammm," he purred, sliding down the hallway towards her. He grabbed at her hand, holding it between his own and bringing it up to his face. He kissed her fingertips once, twice. "Mmm..."

Sam's eyebrows rose sky high. "What exactly are you doing?"

Danny rubbed his face against her hand, smiling dreamily. After a moment, he released it and pulled her to him. He gripped her hips; his face buried in her robe. He took a deep sniff.

"I love you," he mumbled into the fabric.

"That's nice," she smiled in spite of herself. "But why are you SMELLING me?"

"I love smelling you."

"That's... really weird, actually."

XXX

"Ok," Valerie said. She leaned down and pulled Danny's chin up so they were eye level. "Are you drunk?"

Danny shook his head slowly and settled back against Sam.

The ghost boy was curled up like a cat on the couch; his head and torso rested in her lap. He made contented noises as he nuzzled his cheek against her robe.

"Well," Tuck said, "I think we can rule that out. No way would Danny get wasted for the first time on a routine patrol."

"What about love spells?" Sam suggested. Her mind conjured up the image of a 14 year old Danny, sitting cross-legged on his bed, worshipping a group of pictures of her. Yes, this could definitely be the result of a love spell.

"Why would someone put him under a love spell?" Valerie protested. "You two are already in love. Nothing would happen."

"It's not the same!" Tucker and Sam said in unison. They turned to each other, mutually horrified at their memories.

"Ok, ok," Valerie replied, throwing her hands up. The young hunter had been a part of their group for so long now- nearly two years- that they almost forgot she hadn't been around for their earlier adventures. "So how do we know if it's a love spell?"

"Uh..." Sam shrugged, looking around. "Have you been fighting Ember, Danny?"

Her boyfriend didn't even bother to look up; he just shook his head.

"Lunch Lady," he hummed, nuzzling her thigh. "But I don't want to talk about her. Let's talk about Saammmm..."

Sam rolled her eyes- noting, for the first time, the leaf carvings on the ceiling fan- and ran an exasperated hand through her hair. The other was still being held captive by Danny.

"We don't know of any other ghosts who can cast love spells," she huffed. "Danny, what exactly happened today?"

He turned to look at her, still smiling with those puppy dog eyes.

"Fought ghosts. Flew home. And then it smelled nice. And Sammm..." he trailed off.

"The smelling!" Tucker perked up. "The perfume! He's been smelling you ever since he got back, and weren't your pajamas in the box with the broken bottle?"

Sam nodded, eyes wide with horror. She turned to Valerie.

"I told you it wouldn't come out with a wash."

Danny, oblivious, snuggled closer.

XXX

"That's the last of them," Sam said, shoving her clothes at Valerie. Danny stood behind her. His arms were wrapped around her waist; his head rested on her shoulder as he breathed in the scent of her hair.

Sam had been unhappy, to say the least, when she realized that she had to REpack all of the clothes she had just finished UNpacking in the vain hope that that would be enough to snap Danny back to his usual senses. (As little as he had). She was wearing a pair of Valerie's sweats, which were two sizes too big, and Danny's t-shirt. Unfortunately, not even that had stopped her boyfriend from clinging to her and sniffing anywhere that the scent remained. As it turned out, it was even harder to pack with a lovesick Danny draped over her.

Valerie picked up the box, shuffling down the hallway. For the first time, Danny looked concerned. One of his arms raised to point to the box.

"Is she coming back with that?"

"No, Danny," Sam sighed. She only hoped that him recognizing the scent was on the clothes meant that his infatuation would be gone soon. "It's going away."

Danny made a low, keening noise in his throat. He grabbed her hand and tugged her down the hall after Valerie.

Luckily, as soon as they caught up to her he forgot why he had been displeased in the first place. He took a long whiff of the box, beaming at the girl holding it, before returning to Sam.

"So," the goth asked, frowning as Danny looped his arm around her shoulder. He stood on one side of her so that his other hand could remain on the box. "Does Tucker have any idea what in the perfume is causing this yet?"

"He thinks it's some kind of ghost catnip," Val shrugged. "Something that attracts them, makes them happy and docile. He just hasn't isolated the ingredient or combination of ingredients yet."

"You know, if I didn't now know firsthand how annoying this is, I would say that that could be useful."

"It can't be that annoying," Valerie smirked. "I saw you two 'packing' earlier."

Sam flushed. It was true she'd let herself get a bit... distracted earlier. As frustrating as it could be, Danny's unadulterated affection was very flattering. When he had begun making those little whining noises and turning his head up to her, lips pursed and eyes closed, she'd been unable to resist. It wasn't as if they'd really done anything to be too embarrassed by. Danny was far too bashful and cuddly at the moment for anything more than breathy kisses.

"Does he know when it'll fade?"

"The best theory is still when we get rid of it all," Valerie shrugged. "Hopefully it'll wash off your skin eventually. If not, we can always get him some nose plugs."

"Somehow I don't think that'll go over well," Sam quipped as Danny, eyes wide, took a deep breath through the nose.

XXX

Sam awoke on her official second day in her new home in an extraordinarily confusing mood.

On one hand, she was laying in a bedroom that was officially not right next to her parents. Even better, they were several states away. Perhaps best of all, her boyfriend lay with her, his arms holding her tightly against him. Any other day, this would be the morning of her dreams.

Unfortunately, Sam could hear an unmistakably aggravating sound, almost enough to ruin it all.

He was still SNIFFING.

XXX

The goth slid the shower door shut, her pale feet slick against the tiles. The water was as hot as she could possibly make it. She wanted to be scalded; she wanted to FEEL the scent as it was burned from her. She hadn't dealt with such a nuisance in years (her best friends excluded).

She reached for her shampoo, humming softly. It was becoming increasingly difficult to be angry; showers had a way of relaxing her. The goth was in her own world before she knew it.

That is, until the shower door slid open.

"Danny!" Sam exclaimed, covering herself with her hands instinctively.

"I missed you!" he beamed, sliding the door behind him as he joined her. Sam blushed. It wasn't as if this was the first time she had seen him sans clothing, it was just...

Usually it was more secretive, hidden touches under the bleachers or captured moments in one of their empty houses. Not for the first time, Sam was filled with thoughts of what they could do now that they had no parents watching them.

They were not unpleasant thoughts.

Danny didn't seem to think so either; he wasted no time in moving over to her. He pulled her close in a hug. His mouth moved down to suck at her neck.

Sam let out a soft moan at the feeling. Pressed against each other like this, wet with nothing between them... It was almost too much. Her fingers dug into his back. Danny nibbled softly at her skin.

"Hey," he exclaimed, his head shooting up abruptly. "Someone's taking your smell!"

Looking more than anything like an agitated puppy, the teen looked around the shower suspiciously. Protective as always, he stepped in front of her. If Sam didn't know any better, she'd think she had just heard him GROWL.

Sam, who had all but forgotten about the catnip predicament, was torn between letting out a sob at the loss of contact and cheering that the smell was disappearing.

"No one's taking it, Danny," Sam sighed. "It just goes away with time."

She fought a sigh as her boyfriend's eyes filled with tears.

XXX

Danny clung to her desperately from the moment she left the shower, which she had kicked him out of. She shoved him away to get dressed, but he made low, morose noises from across the room. He looked for all the world like a wounded dog.

"Danny, put some CLOTHES on," she huffed, pulling the dress over her head. He whined again, deep in his throat.

XXX

"I'm going out," Sam announced to the living room. She looked miserable in Valerie's only semi-gothic outfit- a simple black dress. "New clothes shopping and all."

Danny, trailing behind her, was holding her hand close to his nose. He was absorbing as much of the smell as he could; even Sam could tell it was fading.

Valerie and Tucker looked up at the two from where they sat, arguing about what to watch. Sam answered their unspoken question.

"You're watching him."

The two groaned.

"Danny," Sam said, turning to the boy. "You're staying here with Val and Tuck. I'm going to go shopping."

He nodded, still holding her hand. She pulled it away and turned to walk outside.

Danny followed.

XXX

Tucker patted Danny's back sympathetically. The ghost boy lay sprawled across the couch, exhausted from the fit he threw when Sam managed to leave the house without him. (He never had mastered the concept of "following"). His two roommates had finally decided on a movie- some dumb teen thing playing on Primetime. To be completely honest, they had merely abandoned their search after Sam came downstairs.

Luckily, the TV seemed to have a calming effect on Danny. Within moments of whining and crying, he was half asleep. Every once in awhile he muttered a soft "Sam" or "smell," but he was largely quiet.

Silently, Tucker hoped this meant the effect was fading.

XXX

"Hey!"

Sam looked up from her perusing; she held a thick black corset in her hand. The thrift store, much like her beloved Skulk and Lurk, boasted a wide array of goth clothing and books. She'd done quite a bit of research on the local goth scene before making her final college decision.

"You dropped this," a girl told her. She held up a thick, leather bound book. The title, written in elaborate calligraphy, was 'Calling to the Beyond: The Foliage, Food, and Formulas Said To Best Attract Ghosts.'

Sam took her book gratefully, looking the girl up and down casually as she did so. She looked... well, GOTH, all the way from her combat boots to her long, dark sleeves in summer.

"Thanks," she said. Something about the girl was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it...

"Haddenfield College, right?" The girl offered. "I saw you at orientation."

"Yeah!" Sam nodded. She quickly scaled back, however, remembering the traditional gothic distaste for happiness or exclamations. She had been banned from goth events for so long (Kwan!), she had forgotten many of the things she used to take for granted. "I probably saw you there."

The girl nodded, the hint of a smile on her face, and the two goths lapsed easily into conversation. As they talked, a few of the girl's friends came over to join them. Their discussion turned to the paranormal, and Sam, as a child of Amity, found herself the star feature in the talk.

That is, until her very own paranormal being decided to cause trouble.

"Sammmm," a voice rang out through the near empty bookstore. It was light, pleased, but wistful. "Why'd you leave?"

Danny rounded the corner of the store, smiling as he saw his girlfriend. He wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in her shoulder. Sam flushed. Just when she had been looking cool...

"This is my boyfriend," she announced. "Danny."

Danny looked up from her long enough to nod, nuzzling his cheap against her skin. "I love Sam."

The goths shot each other incredulous looks. Sam could sense the condescension there. She felt her skin crawl, insecurity eating at her stomach.

Don't be embarrassed of your boyfriend, Sam reminded herself. You don't have to impress them.

Still, she felt the need to explain away his behavior.

"He's not usually like this," Sam whispered, shoving Danny away a bit. She made the drinking hand gesture.

"It's midday," one of the background goths scowled. His noise piercing glinted in the light.

"He's drowning demons," she fumbled.

This excuse, sure to impress most goths, didn't seem to work as well when he was beaming and sniffing her wrist.

"No demons," Danny murmured. "Only ghosts."

Sam laughed nervously.

"He's from Amity too," she smiled, face tight.

"Mhm," Charlie, one of the background goths, hummed. His nose piercing glittered in the light. Danny licked her fingertip, beaming. She blushed redder.

"Don't you think you're a little-" one of them shot Danny a glare, hardly bothering to quiet their voice. "Out of his league?"

Sam, outnumbered and more nervous than she'd been since she first joined the goth scene, frowned. The first girl she'd talked to, Wendy, gave her a sympathetic look.

"C'mon guys," she said. Her voice was soft- a fellow freshman, they were both weary of alienating themselves. "He's right there."

Danny remained as oblivious as ever as the goths shifted awkwardly. Still, they didn't let up in their silent judgement. Sam waited for a moment and leaned on her other foot.

"Uh, I think it's time for me to pay and get going. C'mon Danny."

She didn't even need to gesture at him to follow her; he trailed after faithfully. Sam waved goodbye at the group and hung her head as she turned.

Behind her, she could hear the poorly hidden, derisive laughter.

XXX

"How did you get here?" Sam hissed as she handed the cashier her money. "Val and Tuck were supposed to be WATCHING you!"

"They are!" Danny beamed. "I stayed there too!"

The goth fought the urge to drop her head in her hands. Of COURSE it would be duplication.

Sometimes she really regretted sending that boy into the ghost portal.

XXX

Sam stormed into the living room, slamming the door behind her.

"He duplicated!" she growled. The girl stomped up the stairs towards her bedroom.

Behind her, two Dannys floated up the steps.

XXX

"Fenton cuffs," Valerie called, turning to Tucker.

"Check."

"Nose plugs?"

"Check."

"Ok," the ghost hunter called. "Let's do this."

The two moved down the hallway to Sam's room. Their arms were filled with their equipment; it glowed with the trademark Fenton glow.

Danny lay curled around Sam on their new bed. He was sleeping peacefully; she was staring at them, eyes tired.

"Hurry up," she whispered. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Danny shifted in his sleep, pulling her tighter against him. Their roommates nodded.

They began with the Fenton cuffs. Sam slid down Danny's body, her hands still wrapped around him to avoid complaint. Tucker pulled his arms together as best as he could without waking him. The ghost boy's eyes flickered, letting out a sleepy groan of protest. In one smooth movement, Valerie locked the cuffs around his wrist.

"Hey," Danny protested. He tried to beat her hands away but was held back. Sam let go of him, sliding off the bed. He whined. "Come back!"

"This is for your own good," she told him. Tucker climbed onto the bed, sitting on his chest.

"So is this," Tuck grinned, "But also just because it's fun."

He held out a hand for the nose plugs as Danny thrashed beneath him, whining and growling intermittently. He screwed his eyes shut, preparing for a transformation, but the cuffs hindered his powers. He shot his eyes back open.

"Sammm," he protested, turning to her. She shook her head at him.

"Just wait, Danny. You'll be happy about this."

Tucker leaned down and inserted the plugs.

XXX

"I did NOT do that," Danny protested.

Sam nodded, smirking.

It had taken a few more hours to remove the scent from Danny's system. He had lain, looking up at her with tortured eyes, for much of the night before it faded.

"Agh," he groaned, his face falling into his hands. "All over a stupid PLANT?"

"Not just a plant," Tucker interrupted. He was growing ever more proud of discovering the secret to ghost catnip, even if he had needed the book Sam bought to do it. "The unique combination of two plants, one of which usually decays ectoplasm. I guess the mixture just brings out a different effect. The Guys In White seem to have created it in an attempt to kill of ghosts en masse- at least, according to their 'secret' database."

"And how exactly did that end up in Sam's perfume?" Danny asked.

"Well, that's a funny story," Tucker grinned. He leaned back 'casually' on his chair, wheeling to catch his balance as he nearly fell. Humbled, he continued. "The Guys in White weren't smart enough to figure out the Ghost Nip effect. They sprayed it over a big area, saw no dead ghosts and lots of displeased civilians, and gave up. Still, they needed to show some return on the investments that the government had made in the program. They turned the thing into some discount perfume to sell at Army Surplus Stores. Based off of the smell, I'm guessing Gregor was the only one stupid enough to buy any."

Sam blushed. Much as she hated Gregor (or, more accurately, Elliot), she had still dated him. She couldn't help but feel that his idiocy reflected poorly on her.

"Good thing you never wore it back then," Tucker smirked, nudging Sam playfully. "Somehow I don't think Danny waltzing into your shower would've been as acceptable."

Both of the teens flushed; honestly, Sam had no idea how he had managed to wrangle THAT little piece of information from her. He was such a gossip!

Valerie took pity on them, yawning and looking at the clock on the oven. The four sat around their shared dinner table. Her legs were curled to her chest, and her feet clung to the edge of the chair.

"You guys, it's 3 am," she said, her voice ringing with disbelief. Sam felt the same; it was almost impossible to believe that this was their third day away from home. The first two had been so strange- with Danny finally in his right mind, it felt like they were just beginning.

And it had been a late beginning too. They'd plugged his nose at around 8; by 11, he was back to normal. They'd spent the rest of the night recounting stories of not just Danny under the influence of the Ghost Nip, but also all of the other times they had been affected by supernatural forces. From Danny first getting his powers to Sam the Plant Mother, the night had been chock full of nostalgia and playful teasing (mostly at Danny's expense).

"Jeez, really?" Danny blinked, rubbing his eyes. "I didn't even realize."

"C'mon, guys, how could you keep me up this late? I need my beauty sleep!"

Valerie laughed, shoving Tucker, and they both stood to go to bed. They stopped expectantly at the kitchen doorway, waiting for Sam and Danny to join them.

The two stood and followed, fingers laced together.

"Ok, but tell me the truth," Danny said, turning to his girlfriend. They walked several steps behind the others. "Did I do anything really embarrassing when I got out?"

Sam thought of the shop, of the goths, her potential friends who would never think of him the same. She thought of the derisive looks, the 'out of his leagues.' Most importantly, she remembered Wendy's sympathy.

"Nah," the goth decided. "Nothing that really mattered, anyway."


	2. His Biggest Fans

**A/N: Thanks for all the support guys! It's nice to be back to fanfic writing, 8D. Just a fun, easy little drabble today- don't worry, longer oneshots will be coming back soon.**

**JUNIOR YEAR**

"Jesus, you guys really like Danny Phantom."

Valerie's head shot up, turning to where Ben stood. He was staring at Danny and Sam's corkboard and tapping one of the newspaper.

"We're from Amity," the girl shrugged. She sat cross-legged on the hardwood floor; her hands rifled through Sam's craft box. She was looking for some markers for their craft project.

"Yeah, I can see that," he murmured, tilting his head. He read the headline of the biggest clipping- "WHAT GHOST UP DOESN'T HAVE TO GO DOWN: DANNY PHANTOM SUCCEEDS AGAIN." Looking down, a pair of DP boxers laid in a pile of dirty laundry.

Ben curled his nose and moved to sit on their bed. It was one of the only notable pieces of furniture in the room: huge, half covered with a thick black comforter, and completely unmade. There was a small dent in the whitewashed walls where the headboard met it.

"Still," he said, noting the glow in the dark stars and plastic spiders decorating the ceiling."I thought Sam would have a freakier room."

Valerie shrugged. It was a fair assumption. She and Ben were still casual, though probably not for long- he had begun asking questions about her that she wasn't ready to answer- but he'd been around here enough to meet her friends.

"She would, if not for Danny."

"Yeah, probably," he laughed. The boy flopped more comfortably on the bed, sprawling across it. He absentmindedly began to count the stars on the ceiling.

"I heard Tyler's trying out for the ultimate frisbee team," he commented. Valerie paused in her search and laughed.

"Tyler? Did he forget he has no hand eye coordination?"

"I know, right? That's what I told him, but I think he's trying to impress Sarah."

Valerie leaned back on her hands, abandoning the ever-growing pile of markers sitting next to her.

_Man__**, **_she thought, laughing through their friendly gossip,_ I love college._


	3. Poolside Revelations

**SOPHOMORE YEAR**

"Welcome, welcome!" Tucker opened the front door with a flourish, bowing dramatically at his guests. His trademark red beret glinted in the light of the entranceway. "Kitchen to the left, bathroom to the right, hot tub in the back."

"What about the bedroom?" a tall, lanky boy smirked. His skin, while not quite as dark as Tuck's, popped against his white collared shirt. He had the distinct look of someone who had only recently grown into his features. Unfortunately, that development had clearly gone to his head.

"Like you need to know," Tuck scoffed, the hint of a smile lingering despite his tone. "C'mon, Adam."

The boy in question, Adam, grinned and entered the hall. He headed straight to the kitchen for a beer.

The party moved on; Adam stayed in the kitchen, sipping beers and leering about the view. Valerie Grey, clad in a bright red bikini and jean shorts, rolled her eyes at him. She was playing hostess despite the fact that this was her first time meeting most of the guests. With four roommates of extremely different personalities, house parties were bound to be... well, _diverse_.

Adam briefly attempted to flirt with her more directly, but she quickly shut him down. Sighing, he moved from the kitchen. He dropped his shirt on a chair as he did so and, wearing only his blue swim trunks, headed straight for the hot tub.

"Scooch," he ordered, shoving in between two of his frat brothers. They moved to the side willingly.

Across the tub, Tuck's weird goth roommate was chatting with one of her friends. Adam had only met her once and was relatively certain she was named Sam. He'd avoided her since that experience; her rants on his misogyny and conformity had thoroughly turned him off hitting on her again. Still, even he had to admit she looked kind of hot in her black corset swimsuit thing. (That is, once she'd abandoned the floor-length cloak).

Adam had never been much into the goth scene. To be honest, he'd been kind of a huge nerd in high school. Most of his frat brothers had. It was just that for some reason, at their state college, they'd been able to disguise programming and playing Call of Duty for 10 hours as something that was almost cool. That said, the growth spurts and the pockets lined with money didn't exactly hurt their coolness factor.

And they all had a lot of catching up to do on the cool front. Mainly, the _girls_ and _parties_ portion of the quota.

Tucker, Adam noted, didn't seem to have nearly as many problems on that front as he did. He'd apparently gotten with _Valerie_ during high school, though it "hadn't worked out" for some reason. That wasn't even mentioning the sweet piece of ass who'd been tailing him lately. (Tuck insisted over and over again that it was his roommate's cousin and nothing romantic at all - _yeah right_. "She's just my friend and my best friend's underaged legal charge" was the oldest excuse in the book).

Speak of the devil, Tuck's said best friend was waltzing onto the lawn at that very moment. Danny Fenton was an area of much speculation for all of Tuck's frat brothers. He was decent at video games and kind of funny, but there was a distinct bumishness to him that would've made it impossible for him to be a brother even if he had gone to college. The kid seemed to just sit around, doing nothing but occasionally exploding shit in their downstairs lab.

("A lab for _what_?" Adam remembered asking. All of them claimed it was an extension of Danny's family business, but the rumor around the house was that it was the cover for a meth lab).

And surprise, surprise, Danny made a beeline straight for his girlfriend. This was another point of contention for Adam. The girl attended a college that was essentially a dedication to all that was rich and snobbish, and she was dating the biggest loser this side of the ghetto?

(Internally, Adam felt the urge to compare the two of them. Goth freak or not, what did Danny have that he didn't?)

The boy looped his arm around his girlfriend's torso, pulling her towards him and planting a kiss on the top of her head. She laughed, hugging his arm to her.

Danny pulled away and reached to remove his high-collared, now wet from her back. As he pulled it back, the hot tub's occupants audibly gasped.

He was known for being clumsy, his arms and legs often covered in cuts and bruises from collisions with chairs and tables and the like. _This_ though... this was different.

His neck, previously hidden by his collar, had clearly defined bruises wrapping around the sides. On his chest, five identical lines slashed across his pectorals. He also had painful-looking marks sprawling across his stomach. All of the bruises were tinted vaguely green; Adam wondered if a doctor had ever taken the time to look at them.

With his chest revealed, his other scrapes and bruises didn't seem so innocent. The frat boy remembered that the last time he'd seen him, he'd been sporting a black eye. His knuckles seemed to be almost eternally bruised and cut. Today, his elbow boasted a blossoming blue-green splotch.

Danny seemed unaware of the attention he was getting and began to climb into the hot tub, still grinning.

"Holy shit, man," someone from beside him whispered. "Where the fuck did you get _those_?"

The boy's head shot up as if realizing for the first time what he had just revealed. He froze completely, one foot into the hot tub. His girlfriend, on the other hand, seemed to have a lot to say.

"Why's that _your_ business?" she bit. "Last I checked, Danny is entitled to his privacy under sectio-"

"I'm just clumsy," Danny interrupted, smiling easily at the other dude. His momentary panic from before seemed to have ended, and he slunk into the hot tub. As he did so, he reached to grasp Sam's hand. The movement seemed to calm her; at the very least, she stopped ranting about privacy laws.

"Those don't look-" Sam's goth friend paused at the look on her friend's face, which was admittedly less hostile than the look the others received but still intimidating. Over her shoulder, Adam could see Tucker and Valerie approaching.

"Like something any halfway coordinated person could acquire?" Val suggested, her hands resting on her hips. She made an appealing picture, all smooth brown skin and curves. Adam licked his lips, thoroughly ignoring her male counterpart. "I agree, Wendy."

"No," frowned another girl in the tub. She was athletic looking; if Adam had to guess, he'd say she played volleyball. Probably one of Valerie's friends. "They look like someone kicked your ass three times till Sunday. Then knifed you. The sic'ed a bear on you."

The foursome laughed uncomfortably.

"That's a crazy story." Danny's smile was tense, his usual easy-going manner eschew. "Next thing I know you're going to say I was hunting ghosts. Haha!"

"Ye-eah," Adam said; he raised an eyebrow. "Except why would we say that at all?"

"I don't know! Why would you?" Danny rambled. "There's absolutely no reason at a-"

Sam smacked him hard across the back of the head; her expression was a no nonsense one.

"Don't worry, Sam," Tucker laughed casually, turning to his friend. "You don't have to shut him up. None of us wanted to know the details of your kinky sex life anyway."

Sam swore at him, her cheeks flushed, and the tension receded as the two duked it out. Even Danny looked calmer; he laughed and egged his girlfriend on. (The two of them arguing seemed to be something he was quite used to).

Still, the questions hung in the air, and somewhere, deep inside the recesses of Adam's memory, the sight of those green-tinted scars lingered. Somehow, somewhere, they were all adding the moment to an internal catalogue- another piece of gossip for the frat house, another glimpse into the life of the strange foursome.

At the next house party, the hot tub stayed closed.


	4. Video Games

**SENIOR YEAR**

"Die, zombie, die!" Tuck screamed. His finger slammed the x button repeatedly, cursing as it jammed. Next to him, his frat brothers howled.

"C'mon, Mr. President," his opponent sneered. "How're you supposed to run the house if you can't even beat me in DOOMED: APOCALYPSE EDITION?"

The older boy swore and leaned into his controller. No way in hell had he stayed up all night for a week practicing with Sam just to lose. (That girl was a pain in the ass when she was tired).

"Looks like someone's trying to overcompensate with trash talk," he huffed as he dealt the final blow to his zombie opponent. "Last I checked, someone's still stuck on level six."

Their audience "ooo"ed, laughing and clapping Tucker on the back. Royers blushed.

"At least I'm not running out of HP fast," he defended. Tuck snickered.

"Nice comeback."

The other boy took the time to flip him off before turning back to the game.


	5. Catching Up

**JUNIOR YEAR**

Ghost hunting with Dani tends to be less about ass kicking and more about "catching up."

It strikes Danny the first time they run into Dora. The ghost boy was ready for a fight, ecto-fists a-blazing, when Dani started squealing like a dying pig. Before he knew it, she'd launched herself at the dragon.

"Dora!" she beamed as the ghost shrunk back into her human form. The dragon princess tightened her arms around the girl before they pulled apart. Her smile was genuine.

"How are you?" she hummed, her hands moving to hold Dani's cheeks. "You look thin. Have you been ignoring your human needs again?"

"Nah," Dani shrugged. "I'm just stuck with a vegan housemate and a bunch of losers who can't cook."

"Hey!" Danny burst in. "I can use a microwave!"

"Oh," Dora said, turning to him. "When did he get here?"

Sighing, he pulled out his thermos.


	6. Moving In

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long since an update! I'm not exactly known for my regularity, and school's been kicking my ass. Still, I hope y'all enjoy this one. It's some more Dani/Danny because I'm obsessed with their relationship.**

**SOPHOMORE YEAR**

At first, Dani only visited them in big, grandiose bursts.

She zoomed through the Fenton portal after a massive injury at the hands of Prince Aragon, surprised to find herself in a new home but just glad Danny was there. He'd fixed her up and hugged her tightly; that night she'd slept in what was supposed to be his room. He'd carried her to bed and tucked her in. She would never tell him, but she knew he'd snuck back in to watch her sleep after he thought she'd gone to bed. (It was kind of nice, anyway, having someone who was worried about her).

Still, she'd snuck out in the morning while he made breakfast.

After that injury, it was for another shot of ecto-dejecto. Then it was to figure out what was going on with this whole _bleeding from down there _thing. Then because she was lonely.

As time went by, she made sure to drop by more and more- when she wanted company or care, mostly.

She liked Valerie a lot, and she'd gotten to know Sam and Tucker on more than just a 'my clone's friends' kind of way. She knew, for example, that Sam was a vegan but secretly lusted after a few select cheeses. She knew she could play videogames with Tucker for hours without him ever once letting her win because he felt bad for her. After a few visits, she began to know them as _her _friends too, friendly to her independent of Danny's involvement.

And so she kept coming.

Dani still thought of her visits as spontaneous drop-ins, but she'd been noticing some changes lately.

There were two NASA mugs in the cabinet now; until recently, she'd snatched Danny's every morning before he got down to breakfast. He took the new one because she liked the way the chip on the bottom looked liked Mayall's Object.

Valerie bought Zombieland on DVD after they watched it together and Dani liked it. Tucker kept the sheets in Danny's rarely used room freshly laundered, and Sam was always ready with breakfast early Tuesday morning. (Tuesdays were "against the rules" in the Ghost Zone, and hiding out in the Far Frozen every week got boring).

It was halfway through their sophomore year when she found herself spending more time there than in the Ghost Zone.

She didn't put much thought into it, shoving the realization into the back of her mind. She liked being there. She liked the people and the house and he- er, Danny's room with the big bed and the NASA posters. It wasn't like she'd given up on being a nomad or anything. She just liked the family life every once in awhile.

She was still telling herself that when she entered the portal, stopping to phase back to human and to wipe her feet on the doormat. That was Tuck's little addition to the lab, and it was essentially useless, in Dani's opinion. The lab was just going to get ectoplasm back on her sneakers anyway.

"Hey Dani!" Danny called, looking up from where he stood. The boy still refused to wear a trademark FentonWorks hazmat suit in anything other than ghost form, but even he couldn't avoid the safety goggles. He pushed them up on his head and re-rolled up his plaid sleeves, staining them with ectoplasm in the process. "What's up?"

She shrugged as she walked over to him. The ghost girl pushed herself up with her elbows and sat on the lab table.

"What's that?" she asked. Her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"A prototype my dad sent me," he told her. He held it up in the light, tilting it this way and that. It looked like a regular white belt, sans the massive FentonWorks belt buckle. "He wanted it to mimic a ghost's intangibility powers, but I'm pretty sure it actually prevents them. Still, useful, right?"

Dani laughed, her legs aimlessly swinging in the air.

"Kind of like an anti ghost liquid that actually makes them stronger."

"Yeah," he snickered. "Kind of."

They were silent for a moment, and Danny reached up to pull his goggles off entirely. His gloves came off with a snap.

"Sam missed you yesterday," he said. His hand moved to the back of his head to tug at his hair. "What were you up to?"

"I hung out with Pandora," Dani shrugged, pushing herself up to sit on the table next to him. In reality, she had been avoiding the house. She'd been there for a few days already that week, and she was pretty sure they were getting tired of her. They were, after all, a bunch of college kids- they didn't want to hang out with their friend's clone all the time.

"The box lady?"

"Basically."

"Hm." Danny shifted his gaze to a seemingly insignificant spot on the wall. "Sounds fun."

"Yeah, it was! She's pretty cool, and she showed me how to do-"

Dani broke off. Danny was staring at her, his eyes soft, a certain glint in them that she didn't recognize. His mouth was set in a tight line.

"What?"

"Nothing," he insisted, smiling at her. "It's just… I bet I could show you how to do that."

"You don't even know what that _is," _Dani laughed. Her dark hair swung forward as she pushed herself up on her hands, resituating herself on the hard surface of the lab table. A year ago, she could hardly even bring herself to be in this room. She still sometimes got the creeps when she came through here alone, but there was something comforting about sitting next to Danny while he worked. She continued teasing him, biting but not unfriendly. "You're just jealous because you know she's stronger than you."

"Hey! She is n-" Danny paused in the middle of his coming rant, shoving her shoulder playfully. "I'm not jealous."

"So what is it then?" she pushed, still wearing a friendly smile.

"It's nothing really, only… the Ghost Zone sucks sometimes, don't you think? There's Walker and all those aggressive ghosts and all anyone ever wants to talk about is their obsession."

Dani shifted in her seat again. Something about this conversation was making her uncomfortable; her skin was crawling. Did she suck too?

"Sometimes," she admitted eventually. She clinked her ankles together, focusing on the sight of them.

"But it's nice here, right? Most things work like you'd expect them to and there's us and food and stuff."

"Yeah, I guess."

She and Danny were both prone to shifting eyes, awkward conversations. In her peripherie, she could see him fumbling with the invention. Were she to guess, she'd say he was focusing very intently on the surface of the table.

"Y'know, I mostly stay with Sam in her room."

Dani made an 'ew' face, looking up at him again. This was a more familiar train of conversation; she'd been teasing Danny about his girlfriend since she'd known there was one to tease about.

Danny, however, was still looking away.

"I know, gross," he muttered. "It's just that with me in Sam's room, we're wasting a whole big part of the house. After all, I only really stay down here when her parents are in town."

She flared up, defensive.

"I wouldn't call the room a wa-"

"That- that's not what I mean. I'm just saying, it should have a purpose, right? I just think…"

He sighed heavily, dropping the invention on the table. The tension dropped out of his shoulders as machines hummed in the background. When he looked up at her, his smile was reassuring, his voice suddenly firm.

"You can have the room, is what I'm trying to tell you. If you want it."

Dani blinked at him.

A room.

A bed of her own, not just borrowed from Danny. Maybe she could get a new mattress- the old one was nice, but she'd heard some remarkable things about pillow tops from Klemper. She could add some new posters to the wall- she loved NASA, but she'd also taken some interest in a popular action series lately. She and Sam would have weird vegan breakfast together most mornings, and Valerie could help her with her homework and play sports with her in the backyard. Tuck would teach her how to hack, and they could all be a real family.

She could try her hand at being a girl instead of a half-ghost. Branch out from a life flitting between lairs and wishing for her own.

She could also be let down. Danny could get tired of having her around and ignore her until she left. Sam could complain about the hollow copy of her boyfriend wandering around. Valerie and Tuck could regret inviting a stupid teenager into their home.

Danny looked stupidly, dopily hopeful. He had a way of making her worry about being his clone; did her eyes get that wide, her face tilt in that way? He also had a way of endearing her to him, of making her feel cared for. He was the only one who looked at her that way, so open and concerned and devoted.

They were complicated. He was her clone and cousin and father and brother wrapped into one confusing, college-aged package. She was a homesick nomad, a teenager trying to create a background with nothing but broken fragments of a family.

"I'll take the room," she decided, hopping off the table. He moved in a blur, and she found herself grunting as he pulled her into a hug.

"Enough, enough," Dani huffed, her hands pushing at his chest. Still, her smile was hard to hide, even against the fabric of his ecto-stained shirt. "You're so gushy, jeez. They call me the girl."

Danny broke away from their hug. He held her at arm's length; his grin was wide.

"At least I don't hang out with _box ghosts," _he snickered. "So c'mon. Let's go upstairs. I have a surprise for you."

"Fudge?" Dani smirked, her spirits lifting. The corners of Danny's mouth twitched, and his eyes glinted green in the lab's lights.

"What else?"


End file.
